AIA Guide to the Twin Cities; The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul
by Larry Millett
Get ready to discover the great architectural mecca that is Minneapolis and St. Paul. The first comprehensive, illustrated handbook of its kind, AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is the ultimate source to the architectural riches of the metropolitan area. Organized by neighborhood and featuring a wealth of sites—from the highest point on the Minneapolis skyline to the modest St. Paul bungalow vibrant with historical and architectural significance—this invaluable reference has it Illuminating entries for more than 3,000 buildings Behind-the-scenes details of the structures and their architects Lively information about local history and regional styles Highlights of important buildings nearly lost in time Sixty easy-to-read maps that pinpoint the location of every structure Dozens of planned walking and driving tours Over 1,000 photos that illustrate significant buildings and features Retired Pioneer Press architecture critic Larry Millett has spent more than two decades researching and exploring the architectural heritage of the Twin Cities. Millett’s AIA Guide to the Twin Cities is your ticket to the best tour in town. Sponsored in part by the American Institute of Architects Minnesota. Larry Millett has written extensively about Twin Cities architecture. His books include Lost Twin Cities, Twin Cities Then and Now, and Strange Days, Dangerous Nights (all MHS Press), as well as a series of mystery novels featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Fort Snelling at Bdote
by Peter DeCarlo
For millennia, the place where the Minnesota River joins the Mississippi has been a crossroads, a place of strategic power. But that symbolism is complicated. The fort is a powerful reminder that most Minnesotans today are descendants of immigrants, living on conquered land. Many Dakota people consider the area to be their sacred place of origin as well as a site of genocide. And, shockingly, some army officers at the fort held African Americans in slavery.
The site, a museum preserved and run by the Minnesota Historical Society, is undergoing a sweeping transformation to include not just the fort’s military history but the stories of all Minnesotans. And this primer similarly provides an overview of the site’s role in the foundation of the state, and its meaning for Minnesota’s diverse people.
Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota
by Author Gwen Westerman, Author Bruce White
Much of the focus on the Dakota people in Minnesota rests on the tragic events of the 1862 U.S.–Dakota War and the resulting exile that sent the majority of the Dakota to prisons and reservations beyond the state's boundaries. But the true depth of the devastation of removal cannot be understood without a closer examination of the history of the Dakota people and their deep cultural connection to the land that is Minnesota. Drawing on oral history interviews, archival work, and painstaking comparisons of Dakota, French, and English sources, Mni Sota Makoce tells the detailed history of the Dakota people in their traditional homelands for at least hundreds of years prior to exile.
"Minnesota" is derived from the Dakota phrase Mni Sota Makoce, Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds—and the people's roots here remain strong. Authors Gwen Westerman and Bruce White examine narratives of the people's origins, their associations with the land, and the seasonal round through key players and place names. They consider Dakota interactions with Europeans and offer an in-depth "reading between the lines" of historical documents—some of them virtually unknown—and treaties made with the United States, uncovering misunderstandings and outright deceptions that helped lead to war in 1862.
Dakota history did not begin with the U.S.– Dakota War of 1862—nor did it end there. Mni Sota Makoce is, more than anything, a celebration of the Dakota people through their undisputed connection to this place, Minnesota, in the past, present, and future.
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir
by Kao Kalia Yang
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang is a 2008 award-winning autobiography. It traces her family’s harrowing journey from the war-torn jungles of Laos, through Thailand’s Ban Vinai Refugee Camp, and into their new life in St. Paul, Minnesota, serving as a tribute to her grandmother and the resilience of the Hmong people.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down
by Anne Fadiman
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman explores the tragic story of Lia Lee, a Hmong American child with epilepsy, and the misunderstandings between her family and the American medical system. Through Lia’s story, Fadiman examines the tensions between Hmong spiritual beliefs and Western medicine, revealing how cultural differences, communication barriers, and good intentions can have devastating consequences.
For visitors to the Twin Cities, the book offers valuable insight into Hmong history, culture, and immigration, as well as the experiences of one of Minnesota’s largest immigrant communities. It provides important context for understanding the Hmong community’s contributions to the region and the challenges of navigating different cultural perspectives in American society.
What Does Justice Look Like? The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland
by Waziyatawin
During the past 150 years, the majority of Minnesotans have not acknowledged the immense and ongoing harms suffered by the Dakota People ever since their homelands were invaded over 200 years ago. Many Dakota people say that the wounds incurred have never healed, and it is clear that the genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass executions, death marches, broken treaties, and land theft; have not been made right. The Dakota People paid and continue to pay the ultimate price for Minnesota's statehood. This book explores how we can embark on a path of transformation on the way to respectful coexistence with those whose ancestral homeland this is. Doing justice is central to this process. Without justice, many Dakota say, healing and transformation on both sides cannot occur, and good, authentic relations cannot develop between our Peoples. Written by Wahpetunwan Dakota scholar and activist Waziyatawin of Pezihutazizi Otunwe, What Does Justice Look Like? offers an opportunity now and for future generations to learn the long-untold history and what it has meant for the Dakota People. On that basis, the book offers the further opportunity to explore what we can do between us as Peoples to reverse the patterns of genocide and oppression, and instead to do justice with a depth of good faith, commitment, and action that would be genuinely new for Native and non-Native relations.